When deciding on a book for our January book club, we wanted to do an Agatha Christie adjacent cozy murder mystery and someone suggested Still Life by Louise Penny. The immediate reaction of many of us was to say “my mom loves this series!” or “my mom has read all of Louise Penny’s books!”
Still Life is a murder mystery set in the small Canadian village of Three Pines. It follows Chief Inspector Gamache, a homicide detective who doesn’t see much homicide and his team trying to crack the case of who killed Jane, an old lady in Three Pines who was beloved by all (except one).
I’m generally a fan of cozy murder mysteries, and this one was no different. Although they aren’t my absolute favorite type of mystery, I like them especially to cozy up with during the winter. Still Life specifically had a bit of a Sherlock Holmes type of feel, likely due to Inspector Gamache and a few quotes of his that were very Holmes-esque. However, Agent Nichol is definitely no Watson and Inspector Gamache’s business was much more official than Holmes’s.
Also, what’s not to like about a book with quotes as good as this one?
“Violent death demanded Earl Grey”
Overall, this was a pretty good book with some likable and multi-dimensional characters. It had some unexpected twists, but wasn’t one of those books that practically gives you whiplash from how wild the plot is. It was a nice, cozy murder mystery fit for reading by the fire on a cold winter evening.